looking at buying the savage stevens 512 goldwing over under 12 guage for trap and skeet shooting. im 16 and shot trap for the fist time last week and shot a 23 out of 25 the first and a 23 out of 25 the second.. this was with a browning citori that a nice guy at the club let me use. i would like to know what you think or what have seen from your experiences thanks

The Savage Gold Wing, along with the Mossberg Silver Reserve, O/U's are very inexpensively-made guns, manufactured in Turkey with hap-hazard hardening of the internal parts which results in premature parts breakage (firing pins), wear, and failures to fire.

They were made pretty, only to take the money of folks who either could not or would not afford a better gun, or someone who really doesn't know the difference.

They will certainly not stand up to a regular regimen of trap or skeet shooting.

The Citori you borrowed is pretty much the Toyota Camry of the O/U shotgun world - relative inexpensive, well-built & reliable.

You would be well advised, to save the $600 Gold Wing money, add/save a few hundred dollars more (Christmas is just around the corner), and look around for a good/used Citori, Beretta BL3, Ithaca/SKB, or other major brand, which will last a lifetime.

If you shot back-to-back 23s your first time at the trap range, you're some kind of phenom. Have you parents mortgage their house or liquidate your college fund and get you to a coach. We'll hear more about you from the 2012 London Olympics.

I'm not doubting your claim. Are you an experienced field shooter? I mistakenly assumed this was your first time with a shotgun -- my bad. But, if you are a natural with a shotgun, why not take advantage of your abilities.

Some folks are instinctive shooters and others aren't -- you seem to be one of the lucky ones. If you're really interested in some serious clay shooting there may be scholarship programs available. Most of the larger shooting organizations have youth programs and instructor certification. Here's a link to the trapshooting folks.

As far a deciding on a gun is concerned, you'll be better off waiting until you get some more experience under your belt with borrowed/rented guns. Hopefully your parent/guardian will share your enthusiasm and get you to an instructor for evaluation.

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